Public health in late medieval towns and monasteries

MONASTERIES

• Monasteries needed clean water for religious ceremonies and washing of linen and people

• Religious institutions were rich and powerful and so could pay for water pipes over long distances

• Some monasteries had attached hospitals

• People gave money to improve public health as towns grew instead of to the church

• By 1500, the standard of health in many monasteries dropped as people lost respect for the church, causing towns to grow meaning that wealthy townsmen began to fund the development of new conduits and public privies

TOWNS

• Market Places were paved using money from taxation in order to clean up filthy roads and market places for better trade

• Dung heaps were moved to the edge of towns meaning that there was less chance of the spread of bacteria

• Waste dumpers were named and shames meaning that less people dumped waste so water supplies and streets were cleaner

• Guilds were set up to deal with the poor quality of meat, setting standards and fining producers who did not adhere to them meaning that meat and food was safer

LONDON

• In 1385, a warden was appointed to check whether London’s streets and the banks of the Thames were clear of filth and dunghills

• In 1415, The Mayor of London ordered the rebuild of a latrine at Moorgate because it was flooding neighbouring properties with sewage

• In the 1430s, The Mayor of London organised the extension of the pipes which supplied London with clean spring water

• The Mayor of London and other rich citizens left money in their wills to improve water supplies and build public latrines